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Chug Chug Chugging Along

We went to a train show today at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. A big room in the convention center was filled with people selling all manner of model train related things. In the back of the room there were several huge model tracks of different sizes set up. These people are pretty serious about their model trains.

The first setup we came to had chairs set up around it and both Jack and Casey found themselves a chair and sat there mesmerized, watching the trains go around. I wish I had my camera to capture it. Casey might have been more excited by the fact that she had a chair of her own than the trains, but she did like watching them go around.

I went off to check out a children’s clothing sale that was also in the convention center and Pat stayed with Jack and Casey as they checked out all the models. There was one with buttons that you could push to make different things occur on the track. It didn’t control the trains but you could do things like make lights come on and off or make a little man come out of his shed. We’ve seen this train track before and Jack loved pushing all the buttons; it was no different today.

When I came back (empty-handed) from the clothing sale, I found Jack and Casey playing in a children’s area with some motorized Thomas trains. Jack followed me as we went to look at some of the wooden Thomas trains that were for sale. I had been thinking about getting him a couple for his next birthday. As soon as he saw the wooden trains, he didn’t want to do anything but acquire his own. He pointed out three that he really wanted, which of course were not any of the ones that I would have gotten him for his birthday. (I was just going by what he’s told me in the past.)

Despite the fact that yesterday’s post was about how many toys we have, I felt like it was my turn to spoil him a little bit. But I wanted him to look at the exhibits a little more since that’s what we came for. I told him that he could have a train if he was good for the rest of the time we were there and that I would get him one before we left.

I thought I came up with a good incentive for him to be a good little boy and look at the trains. Instead, Jack said that he was ready to go and he didn’t want to look at trains anymore. Therefore, it became time to go and Jack would be able to get a train.

Jack – 1, Mommy – 0.

He played for a while longer in the children’s area while Casey and I snuck off to get a couple trains. Jack wanted a bulldozer (not even a train!) named Byron and Casey picked Lady. (I only gave the option to pick Lady or Rosie and for some reason, Lady was the definite winner.)

Jack later said, “Daddy, did you know how much I was going to love this?” And Casey wouldn’t let go of Lady all afternoon, through naptime and despite the fact that Jack was pretty insistent at times in wanting to trade trains for a few minutes. I think Casey was pretty excited to have one of the trains as her very own, because all the other ones we own were given to Jack.

And as an extra special treat for Jack tonight, I turned all his bedtime songs into songs about Byron…Take Byron Out to the Ballgame, The Tracks on Byron Go Round and Round, B-Y-R-O-N (a take on Bingo) and I Love Byron, Byron Loves Me (a la the Barney song).